Easy Carrot Cake – A delicious spiced carrot cake filled with raisins and topped with smooth cream cheese buttercream.
Today I’m sharing another cupcake recipe made big, with this full-sized version of my popular carrot cake cupcakes.
It’s a spiced carrot cake filled with juicy raisins and topped with smooth cream cheese buttercream.
In my opinion it really is the BEST easy carrot cake ever!
Carrot Cake FAQs
If it’s your first time making this recipe or you have a question then please take a moment to have a read through my carrot cake FAQs for lots of extra tips, suggested ingredient substitutions (if you need to make any) and allergen information.
If there’s something you’d like to know that I’ve not answered here then please let me know in the comments.
How long does this carrot cake last for?
If you store the carrot cake in an airtight container it will be fine to eat for about a week after baking.
If you do make the cake in advance and choose to add little sugar carrots similar to the ones shown I would recommend not adding them until just before serving. This is because the moisture in the buttercream softens the sugar in the mini carrots and they run into the buttercream.
Can it be frozen?
❄️ Suitable for freezing
This carrot cake freezes beautifully, either just the carrot cake sponge or the fully decorated cake.
To freeze the sponges, wrap them in clingfilm or place them in an airtight container to protect them, and freeze. Defrost them thoroughly before decorating.
To freeze the finished cake complete with buttercream, either…
Place the cake in an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze.
OR
Place the cake on a dish and freeze it uncovered for a couple of hours. Then once the buttercream is firm to the touch, wrap the cake in clingfilm and return it to the freezer. Remove the clingfilm before defrosting the cake (so it doesn’t stick to the buttercream). If you find that the clingfilm has left the buttercream looking a bit messy you can easily neaten it up with a palette knife or the back of a spoon once the cake has defrosted.
Can this cake be made as individual cupcakes?
Yes, if you’d prefer to make this cake as cupcakes, then take a look at my carrot cake cupcakes recipe.
Do I need to peel the carrots?
I don’t bother peeling mine, I just give them a good wash and then get grating.
Which spices are used in a carrot cake?
My carrot cake is predominantly spiced with cinnamon with a small amount of ground mixed spice (a mixture of cinnamon, coriander seeds, caraway seeds, nutmeg, ginger and cloves) to bring out the flavour.
If you cannot get hold of ground mixed spice (I know it’s not available in all countries) then you could substitute it for more cinnamon.
I prefer nuts to raisins, can I switch them?
I’ve added raisins to my carrot cake as that’s what we like best at home. However, if you prefer your carrot cake to be nuttier, then you can switch the raisins for 100g of chopped nuts. You could also try a mix of the two, or simply leave them out altogether. I’ve tested this cake as a carrot and walnut cake, adding 100g of finely chopped walnuts in place of the raisins and it was delicious 🙂
Why do you soak the raisins in water?
I soak the raisins because it helps them to stay moist and juicy during baking. If you bake with raisins (or other similar dried fruits), you may have noticed that they can end up like little bullets with a bitter taste, especially if they’re on the surface of whatever you’re baking. Soaking them before adding them to the cake mixture prevents this from happening.
Does it have to be water, or can I get creative?
Create away!
You could try tea, or even your favourite tipple. I reckon this would be great with rum or brandy soaked raisins 🙂
What about other flavours?
If you fancy getting even more adventurous with your carrot cake then how about trying one off these recipes…
- Golden Beetroot Carrot Cake (Gluten-Free) from From The Larder
- Pineapple Carrot Cake from Cristina’s Cucina
- Coconut Pineapple Carrot Cake from Easy Peasy Foodie
- Cheesecake Swirl Carrot Bundt Cake from Marsha’s Baking Addiction
- Individual Microwave Carrot Cake from My Cooking Journey
- Pumpkin Carrot Cake from Celebrating Sweets
- Maple Caramel Carrot Cake from Liv For Cake
- Cranberry and Orange Carrot Cake from Love Foodies
- Carrot Cake Cheesecake Cake from The Istsy-Bitsy Kitchen
What is this cake free From? / Who is this cake suitable for?
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary, and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Lupin-Free
Can this cake be made gluten-free?
I’ve not tried it, but it should work absolutely fine substituting the self-raising flour for a gluten-free equivalent.
Can you adapt this carrot cake to be vegan?
I haven’t had a chance to test this as a vegan cake yet, if that’s something you’re interested in then let me know in the comments and I’ll add it to my recipe development list.
Can this cake be made sulphite-free?
Yes.
This cake only contains sulphites in the raisins, so simply leave these out and it’ll be fine.
Easy Carrot Cake
INGREDIENTS
For the carrot cake sponge
- 3 large eggs
- 225 g carrots
- 250 g self-raising flour
- 200 g brown sugar - I use soft light brown sugar, but this cake also works well with dark brown or muscovado sugar
- 225 ml vegetable or sunflower oil
- ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground mixed spice
- 150 g raisins
- water - to soak the raisins
For the cream cheese buttercream
- 100 g butter - soft at room temperature
- 100 g icing sugar
- 200 g cream cheese
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
To finish
- 12 sugar carrots
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the carrot cake
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan.Line two 20cm round sandwich tins with greaseproof paper or reusauble baking liners.
- Place the raisins (150g) into a bowl and cover them with water.
- Coarsely grate the carrot (225g).
- Whisk together the oil (225ml sunflower or vegetable oil) and brown sugar (200g) until combined.
- Whisk in the eggs (3 large) until combined. The mixture will lighten in colour and look glossy.
- Sift in the self-raising flour (250g), bicarbonate of soda (¾ tsp), ground cinnamon (1½ tsp) and ground mixed spice (½ tsp). Fold them into the other ingredients.
- Drain the raisins and add them and the grated carrot to the cake mixture. Fold them into the other ingredients.
- Split the cake mixture between the two pre-prepared tins. Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread the mixture evenly in the tins.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Once baked, remove the cakes from the oven and leave them to cool in their tins for 10 minutes, before removing the tins and placing the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
Make the cream cheese buttercream
- Cut the butter (100g) into cubes and beat until soft.
- Add the icing sugar (100g) and beat it into the butter until soft and fully combined. I usually add my icing sugar 1 heaped tablespoon at a time to avoid it flying everywhere.
- Add the cream cheese and beat it into the other ingredients. I prefer to beat in the cream cheese by hand with a wooden spoon a few tablespoons at a time rather than using an electric mixer as I find it easier to combine it evenly.
Build your cake
- Place the bottom layer of your sponge onto your serving dish.
- Add half of the cream cheese buttercream and spread it evenly across the cake with a palette knife or the back of a spoon.
- Add the second sponge.
- Spread the remaining buttercream across the top of the cake, again with a palette knife or the back of a spoon. I've used the tip of my palette knife to make a swirl starting from the outside edge of the cake and working inwards.
- Finally, finish your cake by arranging your sugar carrots around the edge.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Cynthia says
I made this cake today, it’s delicious very soft and moist, no problem with the cream cheese buttercream I added orange extract instead of the vanilla and it tasted wonderful. I also put about 30g of chopped nuts (walnuts and pecans) they added a bit of crunch to the cake. Would highly recommend this recipe
Jane says
Made this today with my 3 year old and it tastes amazing! Thank you!
Nidhi Podar says
Would you have any eggless version ?
Charlotte Oates says
Unfortunately that’s not something I have at the moment, but I’ll add it to my list to look at in future.
Tracy says
I too found the cream cheese icing way too runny. Think I will reduce the amount of cream cheese next time to see if that helps.
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear that. Can you tell me which brand of cream cheese you used? I’m trying to figure out why a few people have found the buttercream runny when most haven’t and I suspect that could be the cause. It would be really helpful if you could let me know. Thanks.
Nisha Bhatt says
I made this cake a few times already.. its been a hit! Absolutely yummy and soft .
Literally popped a batch in the oven because I got bullied into baking again! Ha
Anneke says
First cake I’ve ever made (only done brownies or cupcakes before) but this was easy to follow and made a delicious cake!! No issues with runny icing here as others have stated. Perfect for my little one’s first birthday!
Liz Wood says
Made this carrot cake I followed cream cheese icing exactly 100 g. Icing sugar+ 100g butter + 200g cream cheese.
I ended up with a soup consistency. I needed to add another 800g icing sugar. Not sure what I did wrong.
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear that the icing didn’t turn out as expected.
I’m puzzled as to how it could have ended up that runny with those quantities. Some cream cheeses are softer than others, but none that are so soft it would become runny. How soft was the butter when you added it?
Caroline says
Same here! Wish I’d read your comment before I made it!
Sophie says
How can these measurements be changed to make about 12 muffins please?
Charlotte Oates says
Take a look at my recipe for carrot cake cupcakes where I’ve already made the adjustments needed.
Mary Mcnulty says
I made this carrot cake yesterday. First time I made it, beautiful and moist
Emma says
Just wondered how timings/quantities would work for a traybake version please. Thanks.
Charlotte Oates says
It depends on the size of your tin! The ingredients listed would be enough for a 20cm x 30cm rectangular tin. As the cake is the same depth as a single layer of the one in my recipe, the cooking time will be roughly the same.
Georgina says
So easy to make & turned out lovely. First attempt at making a carrot cake will 100% make another.
Julie Fennell says
Hi The decorative carrots on the top of the cake _ do you make them , if so how. Can you buy them, if so where.
Charlotte Oates says
They’re ready made. You can buy them from places like Ocado and Tesco https://q.ocado.com/afterevent.aspx?c=ocado&e=ocadoshop2&cid=en-GB
Sue says
First time try and total success, even though I baked it in one rectangular tin as a tray bake. It makes loads cut into slices. I froze tupperware box full.
I also used sultanas instead of raisins and soaked them in wine.
I reduced the cooking time to 30 mins because of the tin and that was perfect.
christine huyton says
Lovely cake.Much less time in my oven and I always check the temp.I am aware of this so test the cake,well before the recommended time.
I always soak my fruit in apple juice when I use fruit in a cake.
I love your website Charlotte and recommend it to everyone.
Keep it up.
Aobha says
Does it have to be sunflower/vegetable oil
Charlotte Oates says
That’s what I always use, but any other oil without a strong flavour will be fine as a substitute (unless you particularly like the flavour of the oil that is!).
Fiona Bolton says
This cake was very easy to do and came out really well! I’m a rubbish baker with a 2 year old (very unhelpful) helper, so anyone should be able to do it. 🙂 Thanks Charlotte
Misha says
So i’ve been trying to teach myself how to bake and been experimenting the last few weeks.. Now the guy i’m dating LOVES carrot cake and I’m cooking a meal tomorrow night.. thought I’d give this recipe a go… i’ve just heard my oven timer go off.. verdict tomorrow evening!
Julie says
Hi. Do you have to use oil in the cake or can butter /stork be used instead?
Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t tried it with butter/stork but I wouldn’t recommend switching as I would expect the final cake would be a little dryer and also as the mixture will be more stiff it may also not rise as well as it should.
Kate James says
Do you have a list of ingredients for a 10 inch cake, I need to make a 3 layer one.
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t had a chance to test this cake in different sizes so can’t guarantee the results, but I’d be happy to send you what I would use if I were to try it. Can you confirm if it’s a round or square cake.
Christina | Christina's Cucina says
Love the option of adding a little tipple instead of the water! You can’t go wrong with carrot cake! Thanks for including my pineapple version 🙂